Sturm, Bruins surprise Red Wings to snap skid

DETROIT (Ticker) -- Although they have struggled of late, the
Boston Bruins apparently still know how to win in Joe Louis
Arena.

Marco Sturm tallied twice and registered an assist as the Bruins
rallied from an early deficit to post a 6-3 triumph over the
Detroit Red Wings.

It was the first meeting between the clubs since January 10,
2004, when the Bruins posted a 2-1 overtime victory in Boston.
The Bruins had recorded a 3-0 victory here three days earlier in
their last trip to Detroit.

Boston coach Dave Lewis, who was behind Detroit's bench during
those contests, downplayed the significance of his return to Joe
Louis Arena.

"For me, it's two points," said Lewis, who spent 20 years with
the Red Wings as a player, coach and scout. "All I have are
great memories of this team, this organization, these fans. I
knew how to get into the visitors' locker room, but I hadn't
been in there in a long time."

Boston entered Sunday's contest on a three-game skid, a stretch
in which it netted a total of just two goals.

But the Bruins snapped their losing streak in explosive fashion
against one of the league's top teams, overcoming an early 2-1
deficit by going 2-of-4 on the power play over the last two
periods.

"We've waited for this for a long time," Sturm said. "Power
plays are obviously a big part of the new game right now,
especially as you're going down the stretch. The power play
makes a big difference, and I think that's why we lost some
games."

Sturm, who opened the scoring five minutes into the first
session, forged a 2-2 tie at 5:43 of the second period with his
23rd goal, a power-play tally off a feed from Marc Savard.

Petr Tenkrat gave Boston the lead for good at 11:38 of the
middle session with his eighth goal. He skated through the
right faceoff circle before blasting a slap shot past Dominik
Hasek to make it 3-2.

Patrice Bergeron, Chuck Kobasew and rookie Phil Kessel all
tallied in the third period to add insurance for the Bruins
(33-31-5), who climbed within five points of the Carolina
Hurricanes (34-28-8) and the New York Rangers (34-27-8) for the
eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New
York posted a 2-1 shootout victory over Carolina on Sunday
afternoon.

Boston provided more than enough offense for Tim Thomas, who
made 34 saves to win his first career game against the Red
Wings.

A native of Flint, Thomas was thrilled to beat his hometown
team.

"It meant a lot," Thomas said. "I tried to tell myself that it
didn't, because I didn't want to put too much pressure on
myself. ... I realize how much it meant to me with just a few
minutes left. The emotions started to boil up."

Hasek stopped 18 shots while Jiri Hudler had a goal and an
assist for Detroit (43-17-9), which entered three points behind
Nashville (46-18-6) for the best record in the NHL.

"We can't, from the back end, continue to turn over the puck
like we have been," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We were
terrible at the start. This has been coming. This isn't a
surprise to anybody who has been watching the team."